We Are The Marauders
by The Ink Spiller
Summary: A look in the lives of the famous Marauders in their fifth year. James Potter is fighting for Lily's heart, and is willing to take drastic measure to win it. Remus Lupin is fighting more than his Fury Little Problem this year. Sirius Black is learning a lesson the hard way. Peter Petigrew is trying very hard to prove he is trustworthy. And Snape...Snape just wants to win for once.
1. Chapter 1 - The Marauders are Morons

"The Cloak Prongs, the Cloak!" Sirius Black whispered frantically as the four famous Marauders barreled down an empty corridor.

James "Prongs" Potter nodded his head and shoved his hands into his pockets, continuing to run. But his pockets were empty. "It's not here! I left it!" James yelped in horror.

"Not here? _Not here?_" Came the terrified moans of little Peter Pettigrew.

"Prongs, you dolt! What are we going to do?" Sirius asked hurriedly.

"Leave that to me." Said the quite Remus Lupin. The sandy-haired boy has stopped running and was searching the surroundings closely.

"Hurry up Moony, Filch is bound to catch up soon." James whispered loudly to Remus.

"Shhh. I'm thinking…" Remus eyes flashed to the left in right.

"Here!" Remus exclaimed after several seconds of thought. "Follow me."

Without a word of protest, the three Marauders followed after the fourth. Remus had darted to a set of stairs. He climbed over the banister and ducked low behind the stone supports. Peter, James, and Sirius followed suit.

"Bloody hell, Remus, this isn't going to work." Growled Sirius.

"I didn't see you coming up with a plan." Remus hissed back.

"Shut up!" James warned. At the end of the corridor, Filch was visible. The caretaker had the most hideous purple blemished dotting his arms, hands, and head. It had taken about a week of planning and studying, but the Marauders had perfected the prank-perfect charm.

"Come out here you brats!" He snarled, swinging a lantern back and forth in the night air. "When I catch you snots, I'll hang you up by the thumbs, yes I will!"

Peter wimperd quietly, and Sirius made frantic hushing hand motions.

Argus Filch approached the stairwell and began to climb the steps. "Decided to run upstairs did we? Oh, when I get a hold of you-" Filch made a violent hand gesture that made James flinch.

Flich passed by the spot were the Marauders were hiding. All four of the fifth year boys huddled backwards, hoping that they wouldn't be seen. The ugly caretaker saw nothing of the pranksters and continued up the steps, grumbling all the way.

When Filch's exscessive complaining was out of ear shot, the boys let out a sigh of relief.

"That." Exclaimed James. "Was to close for comfort."

Sirius was laughing already. "Ha! It worked! Did you see how repulsive those boils

were?"

Peter still looked afraid, but was chuckling nervously, because the prank had been rather funny.

Remus was straightening his tie. "Didn't I tell you the charm would work? You just had to stay and watch, didn't you Padfoot?"

"Awww, common Moony! It wouldn't have been any fun if we didn't stay for the show!" Sirius sat, patting his comrade on the shoulder. Remus winced. "Careful!" He muttered.

"Sorry mate, forgot the full moon was only a few days ago." Sirius whispered.

"Lucky you." Remus replied, rubbing his sore shoulder.

"Well Marauders," James said, abruptly changing the subject, "Another suscesful prank pulled upon the notoriously nasty, Argus Filch. I would like to thank Sirius Black for risking two weeks worth of detention by planting the Charm on Filch,"

Sirius took a dramatic bow and waved to an imaginary audience.

"Peter Pettigrew for creating that lovely distraction involving eleven dungbombs,"

Peter blushed to the roots of his hair.

"and especially, Remus Lupin for risking his good boy reputation by committing this crime and for doing all the boring research."

Remus pretend to be extremely flattered, and fanned his face.

"We should really get back to the common room though." Remus said. "Its nearly three in the morning, and we have lessons tomorrow."

Grudgingly, the Marauders paraded back to the Gryffindor House, laughing merrily all the way.

Remus Lupin was seriously regretting his late night pranking adventure. He dragged himself into the great hall for breakfast feeling completely exhausted.

"Oi, Remus!" James called from the head of the table. Remus made a b-line towards his friends. There was James, with his shock of black hair in its usual mess, eating a bowl of porridge with vigor. Then, there was Sirius, whose hair was messy in way that almost looked cool. He was reading the Daily Prophet while poking at a plate of scrambled eggs. Peter was helping himself to a donut.

HE sat down beside Sirius, who didn't look up from his paper, James smiled at him, but for some reason, his eyes flashed. Remus wondered what was up.

"Morning Moony!" Peter said over his mouthful of food. Remus waved sleepily.

"Pardon my asking, Prongs." Remus said groggily. "But is your hair even messier than usual this morning, or is it just me?"

James laughed. "Early morning Quiditch practice." He explained. "Second match of the season is only a week away."

And so the breakfast went. James gave a lively description of his practice, which Peter listened to eagerly, and Remus tried not laugh at his friends' gigantic ego. It wasn't until half way through breakfast that James took a break in his tale to ask Sirius what he was reading.

"What's the headline Padfoot?" He asked. Sirius had his face wrinkled in disgust, but upon hearing James question, dropped all signs of distaste and shoved the Newspaper into his lap. "Nothing." He said a little to quickly.

"Come off it!" James sad, raising an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"Come on Sirius, we want to know!" Peter chimed in. Remus nodded agreement.

Sirius sighed. He knew that as awful as the article was, his friends wouldn't leave him alone until they read it.

"Alright. But don't say I didn't warn you." He threw the paper onto the table.

James, Peter and Remus all paled. The title blared " Vicious Werewolf Attack Kills Three Children."

"Oh." Peter whispered.

James and Sirius were staring at Remus. His Grey eyes were vacant, his pale complexion even paler than normal. Almost blindly, Remus picked up the paper and began to read the article.

"At two o'clock last night, disturbing howls pierced the air of the small village of Hampton, just west of Hogsmeade." Remus began to read aloud.

"The villagers all frantically hid inside of their homes, recognizing the brutal call of the werewolf. Three children, ranging from ages six to twelve, did not hear the howls or the desperate calling of their worried parents." He read, voice wavering.

"Stop it Remus." Sirius said firmly, ripping the paper from his grasp. "Quit doing that to yourself."

Remus was quivering ever so slightly. "They were just kids. They got killed. You except me to just let that slide?"

"It's not like you were the one that killed them!" James said in exasperation, while Peter nodded his head in agreement.

"But it could have been." Remus said darkly.

James and Sirius exchange looks. Remus allowed himself to worry so much. He had a lovely habit of thinking everything was his fault.

"But it wasn't." Sirius said confidently.

"What did they do to the-the werewolf." He asked in a hoarse whisper.

"Remus, I-" Sirius began.

"Padfoot, just tell me."

"T-the Ministry….gave him to the Dementors." Sirius whispered. Peter whimpered.

"And yet, you wonder why I worry?" Remus muttered, glancing upwards. "That is a fate that ultimately awaits me."

"Shut up Remus." James growled. "Just stop it. You would never do that."

Remus said nothing.

"Moony," James said after a long silence. "You're a good guy. That's not your fate. I'll make sure of it."

Remus gave a faint laugh. "You are the most stubborn git I've ever met."

That sent all the Marauders laughing, mostly because they were glad to have cheered Remus up.

"Come on." Peter said. "Transfiguration starts in five minutes."

As they walked to class, James reflected on the mornings events.

When Remus had sat down at the table, he had looked paler, more tired than normal. And it had shocked him. They were all used to Remus's ill appearance, but usually, about five days after the full moon, he started to look a little better. Perhaps the late night last night hadn't been a good idea.

The more James thought about it, the more he thought that he could never wash the vacant, distraught look Remus had in his eyes as he had read the Title of the news article. He tried to shake the image out of his head as they enter the transfiguration classroom.

Class passed uneventfully. Remus took notes diligently, but his eyes remained dull and dreamy. Sirius was casually leaning back in his chair, twirling his wand in his fingers. Peter was staring at professor McGonagall, trying to understand the lesson. But James…James had his mind on things to. And it was not the Fury Little Problem or the Lesson..

He was staring intently at a certain red-head. _She's so stubborn. _James thought to himself. _That Lily Evans doesn't know what she's missing._ He grumped in his head

"Mr. Potter?" Professor McGonagall called, and judging by the tone of her voice, it wasn't the first time she had called either.

"Huh?" James said, sitting up so quickly that his glasses nearly fell off.

"Am I failing to grab you attention this Morning?" The teacher asked severely.

"Only a bit mam." James replied honestly.

That sent the class laughing, at least until Professor McGonagall subtracted five points from Gryffindor.

Lily Evans turned and glared at him, clearly displeased that he has lost Gryffindor House some points. James ruffled his hair and waved. Ginny wrinkled her nose at him.

"Not a chance, Prongs." Sirius whispered in his ear.

"Not yet Padfoot, but one day, I promise you, Lily Evans will fall in love with me."

Sirius snorted and rolled his eyes. James nudged his shoulder with a frown. "I know she likes me." He declared. "She just doesn't know it yet."

"SH!" Remus said glaring at them over his shoulder.

"SH!" Sirius and James mocked.

Remus stared at the ceiling and turned back to his work. "I'm surrounded by morons." He said under his breath, scribbling notes. Lily Evans heard the comment, and barely suppressed a giggle.


	2. Chapter 2 - Spectacles

**Hello! Welcome to chapter 2! Please review and leave me advice! This is my first fan fiction, so I appreciate all your thoughts. **

**I do not own Harry Potter, or the Marauders. Duh.**

**Enjoy!**

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Sirius Black was stuck to the floor. And he was not pleased.

"Lemme up Prongs." Sirius said, struggling against the sticking charm that had him glued to the floor.

"Not until you tell me what you did with my glasses." James growled.

Sirius laughed. "I'm not telling you were there are until you let me up."

"Come on Padfoot, I can't see a bloody thing."

"Honestly, I'm surprised you managed to hit with this stupid charm, considering you can't see anything." Sirius said truthfully.

"It was a lucky shot. No tell me where my glasses are!"

"Not a chance."

"I'm not kidding Black, class starts in ten minutes."

"Since when have you cared about being there when class starts Prongs?"

"Since you hid my glasses!" yelled James.

"What on _earth_ is going on?" an astonished Remus asked as he walked into the common room. James was pointing his wand at Sirius, who was laying spread eagle on the dusty rug that laid in front of the fireplace.

"Padfoot stole my glasses." James explained grumpily, squinting at Remus.

"Oh, tattling on me, are you Prongs?" Sirius asked cheekily.

"Come on now Padfoot, give Prongs his glasses." Remus said, sounding tired.

"No." Sirius said stubbornly.

"Why not?" Remus sighed.

"Because I can't remember where I put them."

"Your joking." James squeaked.

"No, I'm not."

"Sirius!"

"I'm sorry!"

"Guys! Stop it! James, let Sirius up, Sirius find his glasses." Remus ordered.

"Your such a kill joy Remy." Sirius complained as James lifted the charm.

"Honestly Moony, and you call yourself a Marauder?" James said, shaking his head, causing his mess of black hair to flop around.

Remus rolled his eyes, he wasn't in the mood for dealing with this right now. "Just come to potions."

"Ugggg." Sirius moaned. "I hate potions!"

"Suck it up." Remus mumbled.

"Glasses please, Padfoot." James said, sticking his hand out expectantly.

"Prongs…I seriously don't know where I left them." Sirius said, smiling guilty.

"But, Padfoot! I'm practically blind without my specs!" James aid, appalled. He was standing less than a foot and a half away from his friends, but he could only make out fuzzy outlines and features.

"We'll find your glasses after potions James." Remus promised.

James was about to argue, but Remus grabbed him by the wrist and started to pull him into the hallway. Sirius followed.

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The dungeon that potions was held in was alive with sights and smells. Torch light flickered on the stone walls, vials of colorful antidotes glimmered on racks, brews bubbled and splattered, and fires crackled underneath heavy black cauldrons. Amongst these captivating spectacle, the fifth year students were busily working away at an incredibly difficult potion.

"Hello Remus." A voice said cheerfully from the desk behind him. She was slicing up a long white root with a silver knife. Her pretty red hair framed her face.

"Oh. Hello Lily." Remus said shyly. He always had a difficult time talking with anybody beside his closest friends. He pored a vial of neon yellow fluid into his cauldron, and the bubbling potion turned into a vivid orange color. "Oh no." he groaned. "It was supposed to turn _blue_."

Lily laughed softly. "Need help?" she offered kindly.

"No." Remus said stubbornly, pushing his hair out of his face. "I'll figure it out."

Lily rolled her eyes. _Boys. So stubborn_. she thought.

"May I ask why Potter is groping around his desk like a blind man?" Lily ask as she watched James flail his hand around, reaching for his next ingredient. Sirius Black ,who was James table partner, carefully nudged the correct ingredient into James hand.

"We can't find his glasses." Remus said quietly, his voice barely audible over the boiling of all the cauldrons. "If you find them, you'll give them to him, right?"

"Sure, why not?" Lily replied, smiling slightly as James knocked over a bottle of black dust that covered Sirius's robes. Sirius grimaced, and wiped the dust from his chest. "real smooth, Prongs." She heard him murmur.

Remus gave a shy smile and returned to his work, dumping a flask of red sparkling liquid into his cauldron.

Lily stifled a laugh. Remus's orange potion turned silver, a far stretch from the indigo blue that the brew was supposed to resemble. Remus frowned and scanned his text book, using his wand to mark his place in his reading.

Lily looked at her own cauldron. Her potion was the perfect shade of blue, and was starting to emit pale green clouds of smoke, exactly the way it was supposed to. According to the directions, she was to wait six minutes precisely before adding an armadillo heart. So she waited.

Lily scanned the classroom. Most everyone was struggling with this particularly difficult potion. Frank Longbottom was frantically trying to relight the fire underneath his cauldron. Peter Pettigrew was holding his nose, because his potion reeked of rotting sewage. James Potter was holding his potion textbook upside down, squinting, attempting to read the instructions. Jean, one of Lily's friends was looking in the potions cabinet for her next ingredient.

After scanning the room, he eyes landed on Remus again. His whole body was bent over the cauldron, and he was slowly stirring his potion.

Lily always felt kind of sorry for Remus. Those blokes he called friends were constantly getting him into trouble, and teasing him. Lily highly suspected that Remus did an awful lot of their homework too.

She also knew that Remus was a sickly kid. He was always peaky, and scrawny. His eyes were always dark, and he had a generally fragile look about him. Lily didn't know what he was sick with, but she knew that he suffered from what ever it was he had.

Lily thought she would be very glad to make friends with Remus, if he didn't hang out with his stupid friends.

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" Gah!" James yelled as his scalpel cut into his thumb. "I can't see a damn thing, Sirius!"

Sirius smirked as he watched his friend struggle to keep up on his potion. It was quite funny to see Prongs read his book upside down, and try to open the wrong end of a bottle.

"We'll find your specs later" Sirius promised.

"Spectacular! Brilliant!" The loud voice of Professor Slughorn bounced around the dungeon. "You are an excellent potions maker Miss Evans."

"Thank you Professor. I try my best." Lily said modestly, as she smiled down at her perfect brew.

"Perhaps you can help Mr. Lupin? He appears to be having a difficult time…"

Remus scowled.

Sirius and James snickered.

"Potions isn't really Remy's thing, is it?"

"Shut up Sirius, tell me what Evans is doing, I can't see a bloody thing." James muttered, dropping a fistful of seeds into his cauldron.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "She's just fixing Moody's potion Prongs. It really is creepy how you stalk Evans."

"I don't stalk her Padfoot. I simply watch her closely, from a healthy distance."

"Oh yeah, that's not stalking at all."

"What's she doing now?"

"Still helping Moony, Prongs." Sirius said in a monotone voice.

"How does Moony look?"

"He's not making a move on your girl, if that's what you hinting at. He's just following her orders and not making eye contact, the way he acts around everybody else but us."

"No, Padfoot, I mean how does he look? He looks a bit peaky, doesn't he? I noticed at breakfast." James said, reaching blindly around the desk until he caught hold of a vial of neon yellow fluid.

"Moony is always peaky, Prongs." Sirius said, as he began to clean up his things. Class would be ending soon, and he couldn't wait to leave the foul-smelling dungeon.

"No Padfoot, I mean more peaky than normal. Normally, he starts looking a bit better by now." James said, dumping the entire vial of neon yellow fluid unto the floor, having not seen the cauldron.

"I know. He does look ill. But don't worry, he probably just stayed up to late while studying. He does that a lot."

"Yeah…but still…" James said, unconvinced.

"Honestly James! Sometimes you worry more than Remus!" Sirius exclaimed. "Now pack your bag, class is over and I want to get out of here before Slughorn sees how awful our potions are.

Quickly, the boys packed the things and hurried out of the classroom.

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"Thanks for the help Lily." Remus said quietly as they left the classroom. "Potions and me don't get along very well."

Lily smiled warmly. "Not a problem! Potions come pretty easily to me. If you ever need some help, please come and ask."

"I'll remember that. I better catch up to my friends…" He said. "I'll see you in a little bit."

" Bye Remus." Lily said.

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"Hey! HEY! Wait up guys!" Remus called as he ran to catch up. His three friends stopped and waited for him.

"What took you so long Moony?" Peter asked as he shoved his potions book into his bag.

"Lily was just helping me. That was a _really_ hard potion, wasn't it?"

"It was! I didn't even get to step six!" Peter fretted. "That's another zero in the grade book for me…"

"We're not seriously going to talk about the lesson, are we?" Sirius grumbled.

James was stumbling around. "Can we find my glasses now?" he growled.

"In a bit, I want lunch." Sirius answered.

Sirius, Peter, and Remus practically dragged James to lunch.

"You eye sight must be really awful James." Remus commented.

"I don't wear glasses just for fun." James retorted sourly.

Peter led the crew to their usual spots at the long Gryffindor House table. The tables were covered with a delicious lunch. Huge trays of sandwich's, pitchers of pumpkin juice, bowls of soup, and baskets of fruit lined the table.

Sirius attacked a sandwich with ferocity. "I'm starved." He mumbled over his mouthful of food.

Peter was filling his china plate with an assortment of culinary delights.

James was attempting to fill his glass with pumpkin juice but instead, dumped the entire pitcher on the table. Sirius cleaned up the mess with a wave of his wand.

Remus stirred his soup with his spoon. "Aren't you hungry Moony?" Peter asked.

"Not at the moment."

"Feel alright Remy?" Sirius asked, trying to sound casual.

"Yeah, I'm fine" Remus lied.

"You suck at lying."

"I know." Remus sighed. "But, I'm fine, really. Just kind of tried, We were out really late last- what are you _doing_ Prongs?" Remus yelped suddenly.

James was pulling his wand from his pocket. "I'm going to hex Snape."

"What for?" Remus asked with a severe glare.

"For being alive." James snarled.

"James, that's bullying, I've told you befo-"

To late. James mumbled a spell in the direction of Snape. He couldn't really see his arch-enemy, but he figured that was him…

A scream of anger filled the Great Hall.

"POTTER!" the angry voice yelled.

James visibly paled. The voice did not belong to Severus Snape, but instead to Lily Evans.

"Merlin!" James breathed.

"You missed by a mile Prongs." Sirius groaned.

Lilly Evans came storming over to the table, her wild hair floating around her. "What the _hell_ did you do that for!" She seethed.

She was covered in purple boils, like the ones that Filch had been covered in the night before. Remus winced. He had been the one to research that spell, and he knew that those boils were extremely painful. He was impressed that Lily was ignoring the stinging pain in order to scream at James.

James cowered back. "Oh, uh, hey there Evans."

"Well? What was that about?" She snarled, grabbing him by the tie so that they were nose to nose. James looked both terrified and excited at the same time.

"Well I was aiming for Snivellous, but I haven't found my specs, you see, so my little hex may have hit you by mistake. " James gulped as Lily growled. "You look nice though. How about I fix you up, and then we can take a stroll around the lake? James said, bouncing his eyebrows.

"James Potter." Lily said in a ballistic whisper. "Let me make this very clear." She leaned into to whisper in James ear. "I WILL NEVER, EVER GO OUT WITH YOU, YOU STUPID PRAT!" She screamed. James yelped as Lily let go of his tie and stormed out of the hall.

"She's hot when she's mad." He said dreamily.

"You're such an idiot." Remus said, laughing. "You hexed her! Now she'll never go out with you."

"Of course she will, Moony! It was Sirius's fault anyway."

"Blimey! How was it my fault?" Sirius asked.

"You're the one that lost my glasses! If I had had them, I would've hit Snape and not Evans!"

"She'd hate you anyways."

"Would not!"

"Would to!"

"Would not!"

Would to!"

"Hey wait!" Peter said.

The bickering boys turned to look at Peter. "Aren't those Prongs glasses, in your shirt pocket, Sirius?"

Sirius started to grin. "Oh would you look at that! I knew that I put them somewhere!" He took James spectacles from his shirt pocket, and handed them to James. "Sorry mate, I just couldn't put my finger on it…"

"Sirius…" James growled, as he slipped his glasses on. "I am going to _strangle_ you. You knew you had them all morning, didn't you?"

Sirius laughed. "Maybe I knew, maybe I didn't." He shouted, and started to run out of the Great Hall. James scrambled from his seat, and started after him.

"I hope Lily is ok." Peter said nervously.

"She'll be fine." Remus said, staring at his bowl of soup. He hadn't taken a bite or smiled a bit during the incident.

"Are _you_ ok Remus?" Peter asked quietly. "I thought the full moon was just a week ago? You normally are better by now."

"I know, Wormtail. I'm jut tired, and I have a headache. Probably from reading to late or something..."

Peter Pettigrew nodded, but he knew that Remus was far from ok.

**Thanks for reading! Please Review! **


	3. Chapter 3 - Possible Plans and a BANG!

**Hello! Thank you for checking out chapter 3! **

**Please let me know what you think! This is my first fanfiction, so I REALLY appreciate your advice and support.**

**I do not own Harry Potter or the Marauders. Duh.**

**Enjoy!**

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" I positively _despise_ James Potter!" Lily hissed as Madam Pomfrey vanished the painful purple boils with a potion.

"That was really terrible of him." Agreed Lily's good fried, Jean Yuletide. "But he did say that he was aiming for Severus."

"Whether he was aiming for me or Severus, it was still a monstrous thing to do." Lily growled. "That disgusting sad excuse-"

"That's quite enough of that, Miss Evans." Madam Pomfrey said.

"Sorry Madam, I'm just furious." Lily said, pushing her hair behind her ears.

"I don't blame you dear. The potion I gave you should have you healed up in about half an hour. You can stay here until they're all gone." Madam Pomfrey said firmly, but with much kindness.

"Thanks, can Jean stay with me?"

"Of course, as long as you are _resting."_ Madam Pomfrey said, as she walked away into her office.

Once the girls were positive that the nurse was out of ear shot, Jean turned to Lily.

"Well?" Jean asked with excitement.

"Well what?" Lily asked, laying up against the head-board of the hospital bed.

"What are you going to do to him?"

"To who?"

"To _James_ stupid! Your not going to let that prat get away with hexing you, right?" Jean asked with a roll of her eyes.

"Jean, if I get revenge on him, I'll be just as loathsome as he is. Beside, I think Remus was scolding him anyways. He's a prefect, you know?" Lily explained.

"Your not seriously going to just let him get away with that?" Jean said in disbelief.

"Yes, I am! I don't want to get involved with him or his nasty friends! Beside, Remus will deal with them." Lily said moodily.

'You don't really think that Remus will crack down on his friends, do you? He can barely keep them from killing each other." Jean laughed.

"Jean, I'm not going to get even with Potter. He doesn't deserve a rivalry with me."

And that ended the conversation.

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"Come on Moony, it was just a little fun." James said in the Gryffindor common room that night. He was playing a game of wizard chess with Peter, though he wasn't really paying attention. He was winning the game anyways though. Sirius was reading a copy of _Witch broomstick_ while curled up in a squishy armchair. Remus was working on a Charms essay, while bickering with James.

"I was _not_ fun James! It was mean." Remus growled. He flipped the page of his charms textbook and began reading a section called _Glow in the dark arts_.

"Well, I didn't mean to hit Evans, obviously!" James said with a laugh as he ordered a pawn to attack one of Peters Knights.

"Dang it!" Peter huffed as James pawn destroyed his Knight.

"It wouldn't mater who you hit, Prongs! It was the wrong thing to do." Remus said tiredly.

"Well I'm just _so_ sorry. Whatcha gonna do? Throw me in detention?" James teased.

Remus slammed his Charms book shut and upset his jar of ink. "You deserve it!" He yelled loudly, causing a group of second years who were sitting near by to jump. "Don't talk to me until you grow up!" He yelled again. Remus marched away to the dorm.

Peter sat opened mouth, Sirius peered over his magazine in order to watch Remus storm away, and James had an expression of pure shock on his face.

"What did I do?" James asked incredulously. "I was only using the usual insults!"

"Blimey, Moony is in a bad mood." Sirius said breathlessly.

"It isn't even near the full moon, right?" Peter whispered to his friends.

James shook his head. "I just think he's grumpy."

"If I were you, I'd just go upstairs and apologize, save yourself some time." Sirius said, returning to his magazine.

James sighed loudly as he got up from his chess game. He rustled his hair. "Your probably right. I'll be right back." And he headed up to the dorm.

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James knocked cautiously on the dorm room door. "Moony? Can I talk to you?" He called softly.

No answer.

James knocked again. "Remy?"

No answer.

Swallowing his frustration, James opened the door without his friends permission.

Remus was laying on his bed, with his face buried in his pillow. His bed sheets were scattered all over the floor.

"Moony?" James called nervously. "Are you alright."

"I'm fine. Now shut up and go away." Came Remus's muffled reply.

James fought the urge to roll his eyes. Remus was always, always like this. He thought that if he said everything was ok, that his friends would leave him alone. James walked over to Remus's bed and sat at the foot of it.

"I'm sorry that I offended you downstairs." James said mechanically.

"No your not." Remus sighed into his pillow. "You're just sorry that I got mad at you."

"No really Remus. Your proud of being a good boy. I shouldn't make fun of that."

"Apology accepted. Go away now."

"Common Remus, come back downstairs."

"No."

"Please!" James said in a childish voice.

"No!"

" Pwetty Pwease!"

**BANG! ** A small explosion sent James flying off of the four-poster bed, onto the floor. James layed motionless on the rug for a moment, his mouth open in shock. Slowly, sat up. His dark hair was sticking straight up, his glasses were lopsided, and his face was covered in soot.

"What the _hell_ did you do that for?" James asked Remus furiously.

Remus was sitting bolt upright in his bed, a look of pure shock on his face. "I-I …Did I do that?"

"If your referring to blowing me across the room, then yes, you did do that." James said dryly.

"Oh my gosh!" Remus said, jumping up from his bed. "I swear Prongs, I didn't mean to do that. I sort of…lost control."

"Man, you must have been really ticked off." James said, rubbing his head.

"Well, I wasn't pleased, but I wasn't mad enough to blow you up." Remus said.

"Then why did you knock me over?"

"I didn't! I didn't mean to, anyway."

"I'll make you a deal. You come back downstairs, I'll forget about you causing a minor explosion."

"Deal."

And the two friends went down to the common room.

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Later that night, once Remus, Sirius, and Peter were all asleep, James lay wide awake in his bed. He stared up at the ceiling while his mind tried to unwind its thoughts. A red blanket was pulled cozily over his chest, and his glasses were resting on his bed side table.

As tired as James was, his head was to full of wondering to sleep. He was wondering about two things. How to get Lily Evans to fall in love with him, and what was going on with Remus.

Remus was acting strange. Stranger than normal, that is. All the boys were used to the grumpy, sarcastic, moody person Moony turned into once a month, but the full moon was nearly a week ago and Remus was still sulking through the castle as though he hated everything.

It wasn't just his attitude though. Remus's appearance was awful. His pale skin had taken on a ghostly glow. His tired eyes had painfully dark circles underneath them. His body seemed thinner, more fragile than normal. His smile was more difficult to spot.

But none of this compared to the sudden outburst of magic James had experienced in the dorm room earlier that evening. Out of nowhere, Remus had just _exploded_ with magic. The impact had been strong enough to throw James from the bad and skidding across the floor. Where had that come from? Remus was the most serious, self-controlled person James had ever met. It was _extremely_ unlike him to lose control, especially over the petty teasing of his friends.

Something was wrong with Remus.

James knew that if he kept worrying about Remus, he'd never get any sleep. So, he let his mind drift to more pleasant things…

James mind began to dream of Lily. Once again, he tried to formulate a plan to capture the delicate heart of his Lily. He could picture her shining red hair framing her pretty face. Her beautiful hazel eyes sparkling with laughter. Her forehead wrinkled in concentration as she labored over a potion. How could he get her to confess her love for him?

He had tried and tried to take her on a date. He'd done everything from straight up asking her out, to aligning artificial stars on the great hall ceiling that said _Go Out With Me Evans? _ Nothing worked on that girl! Correction, nothing had worked on that girl so far.

What James Potter needed was a plan so romantic, so flashy, so compassionate, so awesome, that Lily Evans couldn't say no. James pondered down a mental list of possible plans.

Oh yes. Yes. Yeeeeees. It was perfect, unfaultable, fool proof! James smirked to himself. Yes, he had the ideal plan to win Lily's heart, and he would execute it tomorrow at breakfast.

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